


Shoots of Beauty

by taetaetiger (sexyvanillatiger)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Deaf Character, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:06:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sexyvanillatiger/pseuds/taetaetiger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It rings loud and melodious, echoing through the silent halls in the basement of the arts building. Laughter like organ music, laughter like church bells.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shoots of Beauty

It rings loud and melodious, echoing through the silent halls in the basement of the arts building. Laughter like organ music, laughter like church bells. Baekhyun can hear voices mumbling further down, but nothing coherent, even though he's only a few doors away from the open classroom. He inches forward, curious, yearning, because Baekhyun has always surrounded himself with beautiful voices.

When he peeks in, there are two boys stretching on the empty floor of a dance room. At first, Baekhyun thinks he is safe from being caught because their backs are to him, but he notices the mirrored wall at about the same time as they notice him. They both whirl around, one smiling slyly while the other bites his lips so that he's smiling not at all. Baekhyun puts his hands up apologetically and smiles, himself.

"Hey. I didn't know anybody was down here," he says.

The two boys look between each other, and too quick for Baekhyun to catch it, one makes a small hand gesture. Baekhyun frowns. The slighter boy who refuses to smile makes a funny face, and the other one's nose twitches. The two seem to be having an entire conversation with only their expressions. Baekhyun steps away, hunching his shoulders in a way that he hopes makes him look smaller and less assuming.

"Sorry if I interrupted something. I just…" He trails off as the slighter boy, the pretty one, with a hairpin curl to his lips and cheekbones cut like diamond, waves him off silently. He looks to the other boy, the one with the tired gaze, almost beseechingly.

Sleepy smiles and rolls his eyes, turning to Baekhyun and making a series of grand gestures. Baekhyun stares on in wonder. It's possible, he thinks, that these two are just making fun of him. The pretty boy thumps his friend on the chest and makes even more gestures. Sleepy turns to Baekhyun and slowly says, "Sorry." Except it doesn't sound like sorry, because it sounds like he's just come out of mouth surgery. Baekhyun gets it very suddenly.

"Oh. My god, I didn't—I mean—" He scrambles to explain himself, except there's nothing for him to explain because they won't understand him because they're _deaf, how could he be so stupid_. Baekhyun flounders, opening his mouth and closing it again several times before just giving up. He covers his face with his hands, hoping to hide the embarrassment, and he misses the sight of that angelic laughter that brought him here in the first place.

Church bells, he had thought. No; that laugh is like daylight. Thunder. High tide. There is something so noble and natural about that laugh, so overwhelmingly mighty, that when Baekhyun looks up, he's surprised to find that the laugh has been hidden behind the pretty boy's hand. He covers his mouth, smiling broadly behind it. Baekhyun smiles back, and the pretty boy smiles wider.

For once, he has nothing to say, nothing he _can_ say, so he waves.

**Author's Note:**

> Intro for a longer fic idea that I've been playing around with recently.


End file.
